Friday, October 27, 2006

Wattle Seed Madeleines

After much contemplation I finally settled on the classic Madeleine - but gave it an Australian twist with the addition of ground wattleseeds. I have used wattle seeds previously but to recap they have subtle coffee flavour with hints of hazelnut and chocolate. Since we are dealing with a small item, this is an ideal way to impart a lot of flavour by the addition of one simple ingredient.

The wattle seeds themselves give a slight speckled appearance to the Madeleines and turn this delicate treat into something with a little more complexity.

Wattle Seed Madeleines

[Makes about 60 mini madeleines]

90 grams butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon ground wattleseeds

2 eggs

75 grams caster sugar

20 grams soft brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

90 grams plain flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder,

icing sugar, to dust

Combine the wattleseeds with the cooled melted butter and set to one side.

Place the eggs, sugars and vanilla extract into a food processor and process until combined. Add sifted flour and baking powder - process briefly to combine. With motor running add the cooled butter/wattleseed.

Pour this into a bowl and cover - place in the fridge to rest at least one hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Butter and flour the Madeleine moulds.

Spoon batter to two-thirds fill each mould and bake 8-10 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Let them cool slightly in the tray before dislodging them.

Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, pattern side up.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Just for fun, I've used this mix to form two other shapes - a small barquette and a small pyramid - each easily consumed in a bite or two.

Hi Paz - wattleseeds are a native australia product - only a few varieties of wattle tree produce edible seeds - these seeds are roasted and ground to form wattleseeds. The ground wattleseeds I've used come from Oz Tukka and you can find more information about it from this site. I'm not sure if they ship to america - amazon might be your best bet to get hold of some. Hope that helps!

i bought some wattleseed a while ago from an australian producer (herbie's spices) in Harvey Nichols - and used them in a chocolate soufflee. absolutely loved the subtle coffee flavour and i am sure it was a great addition to your madeleines as well!

Hi Johanna - thanks so much for the info about Harvey Nichols. I do get emails about sourcing the seeds and now I have some place for england - Herbie's is an excellent brand and they do have a quality range. Your chocolate souffle sounds heavenly.

Thanks Y - yes, it very hard to stop at one but they so small having a few won't do any harm

Thanks Helene - I hope you do try out the seeds I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

i love the first shot of the madeleines, it's so cool how you could see the texture of the madelines and the flecks of wattleseed. im going to go out and get me some wattleseed and a madeleine pan now!